Hi all, I've been an intermittent lurker (mainly during times of phd misery) and now I've decided to post (it's a miserable post. Sorry).

I'm in my 3rd year of a funded science phd, which I haven't got on well with. I don't want to aim for jobs in the field, and I'm certainly not cut out for academia. I won't finish within my funding period (it's unheard of in the group and almost unheard of in the dept., not sure if it's like this everywhere..?). Therefore, there isn't much point hanging on until the bitter end so that I can leave uni broke, jobless and with a qualification in something I don't want to use (albeit with the right to change the details on my bank account to 'doctor').

I'm now looking for jobs, but don't know where to start (or where to look for help). I considered the Fire and Rescue service, but recruitment times are few and far between (none scheduled for the foreseeable future). Mainly, I don't want to run from the phd straight into another job I'll hate, as I'd be no better off. I'm just not sure how to find something I'd like to do. I'd rather be active than sitting in an office, rather work outdoors than in the lab. I'm not chasing money and I don't care if it's a 'graduate' job or not, but I do need enough money to live on (obviously!) so I'm wary of eating away my savings whilst training in something else (that I may or may not be able to find a job in).

So.. anyone got any advice? On where to look or who to talk to? I've tried all the main jobs websites (the ones full of 'graduate recruitment consultant' vacancies - even if I knew what that was I don't think I'd want to do it!), and I've never found uni careers services to be much help in the past (if you can use google then you're as clued-up as they are, sometimes). The problem is that I just don't know how to think through what it is I want to do (!). How much 'risk' is it 'safe' to take? (eg. applying for grad schemes that string the application/assessments out over a year - would I be mad to do that instead of sitting around my phd office getting nowhere but getting paid?)

A final question - does anyone have any experience of professional CV writers? I know most people see them as a waste of money but I've never managed to get any work or interviews based on my own CVs, and now I'm in the messy position of having half a phd to justify.

Thankyou to all who manage to read this far! I know I sound like a moron. I'm rather confused right now.

Am so sorry and completely sympathise being in year 2 and having pretty much decided to bail out if I can get a job. I know how frustrating the recruitment websites are. I did have my CV from previous career 'tweaked' by profi CV writer and that was good, but am now at the stage of exploring whether recruitment consultants that I can actually get in touch with will discuss posts and therefore do ther relevant tweaking. Am in the middle of this at the moment so will let you know how I get on,
Sorry not much help, but completely understand and will feedback if I get anything useful.
And no, you don't sounds like a moron you sounfs like a completely compos mentis human being. Hang in there!

Hi Buzzy, thanks for your reply and sorry to hear the phd isn't going so well either. I think I find the recruitment websites more baffling than frustrating: lists and lists of things you're not qualified to do without experience, apart from sales & marketing, accounts and recruitment. Really?? Is that all graduates do these days?

When you used a CV writer before, how much did they do with your CV? Did it help you to get interviews?

Best of luck with your search (and/or phd!)

Hi there,

I've not had experience with Pro CV writers, but that is one thing your careers service can actually do for you. They should have someone who is a CV expert who can help get your CV up to scratch. So give them a go before you spend money on someone to do it.

I think the problem of "I don't know what I want to do" is very common, the trouble being that you won't know if you like something until you do it. It's also true that it is often not what you know but who you know, so talk to your friends and see if their companies have anything going that may interest you. Recruitment consultancies can be a pain in the backside, try applying directly to small companies by phoning them up and enquiring, even if they haven't got any advertised positions. Just be prepared to be told no a lot - you only need one yes.

I would say also that you should stay being paid in your PhD until you have an offer - take the money whilst you can.

As for how much risk is safe - by definition, the more risk you take the less safe it is! No job application is guaranteed to succeed, but you can (and should) apply for more than one job at a time. Doing that should help to spread the risk a bit.

Finally, if you don't know what you want to do then why not try doing something your not sure about? At least if you find you don't like it then you know that and can try something else. What was it Baz Luhrman said? "the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t." :-)

Good luck

I used a professional CV writer. I would highly recommend it--if you get the right one! This woman took about two hours to sit down with me to go over and discuss every single aspect of my CV--I brought in a draft, and we went over every past job and its responsibilities, other professional achievements, educational achievements, etc, the sort of job market ( at the time) I was targetting, etc. Brilliant stuff! She then sent me an electronic draft and we met yet again to finalise the contents.
Good luck with the rest of your decisions....its a hard place to be in but perhaps as you still have some income stream with the PhD it would not hurt to stick with it until the better option comes along?

I have recurrent thoughts about my life when I buy a fishing boat and sail around the Mediterranean. I will be a mighty sailor and the horizon will be my limit! Of course, after a week without internet I will be transported in the closest rehab clinic for first aids, and in a month's time I will be crying alone in the bathroom to go back to research. In a couple of months I will be throwing myself in my supervisor's feet for forgiveness: " I promise I will publish more often than you change your shirt!" (which luckily is not very often).

What I want to say is that take some time off, try another job before taking any major decisions. It might just be a rebound reaction from awful lot of pressure. I have a friend, who is a tree-surgeon, and spends all his day in the fields and frankly he is quite happy. But, different horses for different courses, they say.

Hi there,

sorry to hear about this. I spent three years in a job I hated after I graduated from my MA because I could not find a suitable PhD program straight away and doubted whether academia was a good career choice. Instead, I was miserable in supposedly grown-up, well paid jobs. Talking to a lot of people and a book called 'What colour is your parachute' eventually helped me to figure out that I actually was meant to be in academia, whether it paid crap or not. I have almost finished my PhD now and although every job will obviously have days you like it less, I love most of it and could not imagine doing anything else anymore.

So here's my advice, for what it's worth: if you don't have the money to see a career counsellor or coach, invest in a book such as 'What colour is your parachute'. Although some of the more job market specific advice is aimed at the US and the illustrations are downright cheesy, I found the exercises that help you figure out you core values and what kind of jobs matches them really helpful.

I would not invest in a profi CV writer as long as you don't know what you're looking for. After that, it might be worth it, but only if you're trying to find the kind of job where a well-tweaked CV is what you need to get them (in some fields word of mouth is much more important is my experience). If you're interested in a certain kind of job, like the fire and rescue services, you could also try to contact someone who already does that. I found that people are surprisingly willing to tell you about their work, sometimes will even let you come along for the day. That really gives you a good impression of what the work is like and whether you would want to pursue it.

Last but not least: you say that you'd rather work outside than in an office. If that's really true (and not just a hyperreaction to you recent negative experiences), why don't you give yourself a year or so to try different kinds of outdoor jobs and see what you like and dislike about them? You could think of working on an (organic) farm, on a camping site, as an outdoor sports instructor, as a handyman et cetera. Although a lot of those jobs might be not so well-paid, I guess it's better to do something you enjoy for little money than to be well-paid and miserable. You could also apply for outdoor jobs abroad, such as ski instructor or something. That way not only can you do something you enjoy, you'll get to know new people and see new places too!

Hope this helps a little, good luck!